By Samuel B. Parker
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia Department of Corrections officer has been dismissed in connection with the June death of an inmate at Wallens Ridge State Prison, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Jason Cope, a 13-year VADOC veteran who most recently held the rank of sergeant at the supermax facility in Wise County, was “placed on pre-disciplinary leave” in October, the source said — four months after Aubrey McKay was found in his cell with a fractured Adam’s apple, black eyes and bruises on his arms and ankles, his mother told WVTF.
On Jan. 12, Cope was “served to begin due process,” the source said, meaning officials began the process of terminating him in compliance with his rights under state code. Officials fired Cope roughly a month later.
In response to questions, VADOC spokesperson Kyle Gibson confirmed that Cope was no longer an employee of the department as of Feb. 10, but declined to provide details on the nature of his departure.
“The VADOC does not routinely comment on personnel matters,” Gibson wrote in an email.
Gibson also would not answer questions about whether Cope had been involved in any other reported incidents during his VADOC tenure, which began in April 2013 , or why four months transpired between McKay’s death and Cope’s placement on leave.
He referred all further requests for comment to the Virginia State Police, which is investigating McKay’s death.
VSP spokesperson Robin Lawson said that, because the “investigation is still ongoing, we cannot provide any additional information at this time.” Cope could not be reached for comment.
McKay’s exact cause of death remains unclear. A staffer for the Virginia chief medical examiner’s office declined to comment on the case — or even to say whether the office had determined a cause of death nine months after McKay was recovered from his cell.
Like Gibson, the staffer referred all questions to VSP.
McKay’s death came only a month after a group of alleged MS-13 gang members stabbed three corrections officers at Wallens Ridge. Criminal charges in that attack came swiftly.
In September, WVTF reported that multiple inmates inside the prison claimed they had been beaten in retaliation. VADOC denied the claim.
Prince William County Circuit Court records show McKay pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of felony aggravated malicious wounding. He was 20 years old at the time.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended, and was set to be released in July.
On March 10, The Times-Dispatch reported that the warden at Wallens Ridge had been replaced by VADOC’s new director — part of a series of personnel changes that also included the warden of River North Correctional Center, where corrections officer Jeremy Hall was attacked and killed by an inmate in November.
—
© 2026 Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.. Visit www.timesdispatch.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.